


Stay close

by Sepkitoyh



Series: In search of El Dorado [4]
Category: From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series
Genre: Bonding, F/M, Nightmares, Protective Seth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-17
Updated: 2014-09-17
Packaged: 2018-02-17 18:51:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2319761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sepkitoyh/pseuds/Sepkitoyh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I miss him too.”</p><p>“I know you do, princess. I'd say you miss him more than you'd admit.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stay close

 

“I can't believe you still use that old thing.” Seth nodded at the machete in her hands. She was sitting at the foot of the motel bed, cleaning the blade with a ripped off piece of her old tank top. “You know firearms are a lot safer, lets you keep the distance.”

She cast him an amused glance. She knew he didn't like her being up close and personal with the culebras, he brought it up often enough, but this blade had saved her when she had thought herself lost to the Devil and she wouldn't part with it willingly.

“I can't believe you still wear that old suit.” she retorted. It was with badly hidden fondness though, she loved that suit. “But if I were to guess,” she continued as she put the blade in the back strap she'd gotten for it. “which I won't, I'd say it's because you know your brother has a matching one.” She got up and gave him a soft smile from the corner of her mouth. “It makes it feel like less of a distance.” She tossed the machete on top of the bed and put the polish and rags away in the leather duffel bag on the floor.

“Remind me how old you are again?” Seth huffed incredulously. He had mentioned on various occasions that he couldn't believe some of the things she said and did could come from someone her age. A lot of the times it was regarding her gutting culebras like they were river bass or being the only one he knew that actually liked chocolate liqueur cherries.

Kate turned around to face him, a purse to her lips. “I'm eighteen in 24 days.” She sauntered over to him by the table where he was finishing up on the gun care. “Now,” she put her hands on the back of his chair and leaned forward, eyes intent on his. “remind me what you promised me for my birthday?”

Seth pulled his head back and she was pretty sure he struggled not to look down her loose fitted tee. She did her best to hide the smirk. She liked the idea that she could get him flustered despite him being far more experienced in the world than she was.

He sighed and reached forward to put the gun away on the table as Kate turned to sit down on his lap. She had one arm round the back of his neck and looked at him impatiently. He leaned back against the chair again and met her eyes. “I promise, princess, you'll get what you want.” He put his hand up to her chin, thumb caressing just underneath her lips and she knew that he wanted nothing more than to keep that promise.

“24 days.” she mumbled, tilting her head down, leaving a soft kiss on his digit. “That's all you've got. You sure you're up for it?” It was a challenge and he answered it with a crooked smile.

“You sure _you're_ up for it?” The question was half in jest, half sincere. Kate knew he would fall on his sword rather than see her harmed in any way.

She met his gaze, a tension to her otherwise soft eyes.

“I'll do anything.” Her voice was low, resolute. “You promised me Richie for my birthday, and I'll personally slaughter every pinche culebra that gets in the way of that happening.”

 

~~~

 

It had been six weeks since the Twister.

When they had left the bar they had been trying to catch up with the SUV for several hours, but either it must have been super charged or damn good at hide and seek cause they hadn't been able to find it anywhere. Eventually Seth and Kate had had to accept a temporary defeat and had pulled in to a motel at the outskirts of a small town.

After they had settled in Seth had went out for a while on what he had called 'a quick stop', and Kate had been left on her own. She had locked the door and wedged a chair underneath the handle, drawn the curtains over the two windows and switched off all the lights. Then she had sat down on the bed, back ramrod straight against the headboard with the machete in hand.

She was sitting in the the stillness of the dusky room, listening to her own uneven breathing and the sound of the AC on the wall opposite her. Her exterior a blank sheet whilst inside a roaring turmoil of emotions fought to rise to the surface. Her knuckles were beyond white as she gripped the haft with one hand and clenched the covers with the other.

She didn't know how long she had been sitting like that when she heard someone at the door. Someone was trying to get in. There were pounding and rattling and someone shouting her name. A voice in the back of her head told her that it was Seth, that she should get up and let him in but it was drowned by the deafening drum of fear that punched through her walls and she slid down at the side of the bed, cowering on the floor, hands over her head, whimpering and shaking like mad.

A moment later the legs of the chair broke and Seth barged through the door. His eyes instantly homing in on her, as if she was the only thing they ever searched for. He rushed over to her, taking the blade and tossing it to the side before kneeling next to her, cradling her in his arms. Just like when he had found her in the tunnels it took her a second before she realized she wasn't under attack and she eased in to his embrace.

“Hey, easy princess.” he soothed, his lips alternating between shushing and kissing her hair. “It's okay. You're safe, I got you.” And her walls caved in.

The sheer realisation that she was safe, that she was out of that place and far from it's inhabitants, crashed over her like a tidal wave. She broke down into uncontrollable sobbing, her entire body convulsing in fits of fear, anguish and pain. All the while Seth held her in his arms, putting his legs around her so that she could lean into his chest more easily, and he continuously murmured soft words to her just so that she would hear his voice. She turned her face to him, breathing him in through the layers of dusty, blood sprayed fabric that now soaked up her tears.

They stayed like that on the floor as the room grew darker and when her breathing became easier Seth helped her up on to the bed again. He switched on the bedside lamp and walked over to a couple of paper bags that he had thrown to the side as he got in. He handed one of them over to Kate.

“I picked up some new clothes. I hope I got your size right.” There was a hint of a blush to his cheeks but she could have imagined it.

Kate took the bag and looked inside it. It was a pair of pale blue jeans and a cobalt blue tee. There were even some simple black underwear. She looked up at him, puzzled.

“I thought we could both use a dress change, get these rags cleaned up,” he motioned to his own grimy suit. “and maybe we'll feel like people again.” His voice was tired, as his eyes. She knew that he didn't think they would feel like people in a long while, and neither did she.

A shower sounded more than welcome though. She got up, her knees still a bit shaky and walked to the small bathroom. She hesitated with her hand on the door handle and looked over her shoulder at Seth.

“Don't worry, hun. I'll be right here.” he said with a reassuring smile and slumped down in an armchair next to the window.

She closed the bathroom door behind her and started to undress. She was a mess. Her hair was tangled, she had cuts and scrapes everywhere and there were hardly an inch of her that hadn't been sprinkled with dust and blood.

She relished in the hot water for nearly thirty minutes. When she got out of the shower she realized she hadn't slept for about sixty hours and now when things started to slow down around her she felt the effects of the sleep deprivation like a ton of bricks. She felt nauseous and her entire body ached from the inside out. She had a hard time focusing as she looked herself in the mirror and for a brief moment she got the gut wrenching feeling that it wasn't her in the mirror but someone, _something_ , else.

A sudden knock on the door made her jolt.

“Everything alright, princess?” Seth's voice worried on the other side of the door.

“Yeah, yeah I'm fine.” She tried to sound convincing. “I'll be out in a minute.” She looked back in the mirror again. It was true, it wasn't the same face that she was used to. It wasn't the same person she had last seen in the mirror at the trashed truck stop. Her old eyes hadn't seen the dread of the Twister and it's belly. Her old hands hadn't slashed through skin and bone to survive. She looked down at her hands and started trembling. _Her old hands hadn't put a stake through her father's heart._ She shook her head from side to side. She didn't have the time nor the energy for another breakdown. She would grieve her family, but it wouldn't be naked in a motel bathroom.

She looked around and realized she had left the bag with her clothes by the bed. She frowned at the heap of dirty clothes in the corner, she was definitely not putting them on before they had been through a washer. She wrapped the pale green towel tight around her chest and unlocked the door.

Seth had turned on the TV, and the sound and it's flickering light gave her a sense of safety. Even though the people on the screen all spoke Spanish and seemed to either shout at each other or kiss passionately, often one directly after the other in varying order, it was something common in a world that had turned out to be far from.

Seth looked up from where he was lying on the bed, hands tucked in under the pillow as he watched the TV with slim interest. He had kicked off his shoes and taken off everything but his pants and wife beater.

“I forgot the bag.” Kate mumbled and felt her skin burn under his gaze.

Seth looked at her for a moment, his eyes seemed distant and his lips slightly parted. Then as she approached further he blinked back and sat up on the bed, back turned to her. “My turn with the shower then.” He took his own bag off the floor, angling his head away from her as he hurried past her to get to the bathroom.

That was courteous, she thought with a furrow. His manner had left her strangely ambivalent on whether she appreciated it or not though. But then he knew she had been through a lot. Maybe he was afraid to act like some creep to add to it all. So instead he acted as if she looked like his mother on a stripper pole. Much better.

When she heard the bathroom door lock and the shower start running she eased up on the towel. She got the black panties and bra from the bag and she blushed as she saw that he had indeed picked the right size. Jeans and a t-shirt was one thing, him getting her perfectly fitting underwear was something entirely different. It made her wonder how much he had studied her or if it was just a fluke. Or maybe he bought a lot of women underwear, all the time.

She decided to rule that last one out.

She put on the panties and pulled the loose fitted tee over her head but passed on the bra and jeans. Instead she turned down the cover on the bed and snuggled in under the comforter. There were two pillows, it was a queen size, but she reached for the one Seth had used, feeling comfort in his scent.

Her eyes and head were heavy, she was so tired it felt like the whole room was spinning. Still she couldn't sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she could hear the scraping sound of claws on stone and saw yellow eyes flickering in the darkness behind her lids. It was only when Seth got back out from the bathroom, dark jeans and a grey t-shirt, that she felt herself relax. He sat down in the armchair, bare feet up on the sole surviving chair from the small table, and started flicking through the channels with the remote. He glanced over at her when she turned around and she gave him a soft smile before closing her eyes and a moment later she was asleep.

She dreamt about her and Scott playing lacrosse out on the field behind the house. Summer, sunlight, rustling grass. Then the sun turned red, the grass withered and the world became stone around her. She heard claws ripping through flesh, loud screams echoed through the air and she saw hungry eyes flashing in the gloom around her. She wanted to run but her feet were stuck and as she looked down her legs were entwined by dozens of snakes, or more. As she looked around they covered the ground all around her. Her father came running towards her and she reached out her hands towards him, calling for him but as he came close she saw his eyes glow yellow and with a snarl he revealed long fangs, dripping with venom, his jaws opening up with inhuman width as he lunged at her. She screamed out in terror and found a set of strong arms holding her. She looked up and saw Richie smile down at her with those beautiful blues. Her heart leapt and she wanted to throw her arms around him but his face changed, it became plated with scales and a huge snake came slithering out of his mouth, ready to strike.

She shut her eyes in fear and fought to get out of the firm embrace. She heard someone close by, someone familiar. As she opened her eyes again she was in bed, Seth once again struggling to hold her. He was lying next to her, his arms enveloping her.

“When are you gonna stop fighting my hugs, girl?” he whispered with a soft smile.

“Seth!” complacency in her voice as she realized where she was. She quickly turned towards him and put her arms around his neck, pressing as close as possible, still afraid that the claws from her nightmare might come out of the shadows and snatch her away. For a moment Seth seemed a bit taken aback, his hands held out tentatively, then he eased and put his arms around her back as she nuzzled the hollow above his collarbone.

She heard him give off a low groan, then he turned his face so that his lips rested on top of her head and he took a deep breath, as if to breathe her in. “Bad dream?”

She nodded against his neck which generated another muffled sound from him. She drew back to look at him but he wouldn't meet her eyes, instead he pulled up the comforter which had ended up by her knees, tucking her in.

“Culebras?” He asked, already knowing the answer. He leaned on his elbow, sweeping a strand of hair from her face.

Again she nodded. “It was my dad.” she whispered, fighting off the images from the nightmare. She didn't mention Richie. It would do neither of them any good.

Seth looked down on her with concern in his brown eyes. “You know you saved him from that.”

She had told him about what had happened in the tunnels. The short version. She hadn't told him of what her dad had said about him and his brother, and Seth had still not asked about the exchange between her and Gonzalez when she'd talked the ranger down from killing Richie.

Seth got up and fetched a glass of water from the bathroom and she accepted it gratefully. As he was about to go back to the armchair Kate reached out and caught his hand in hers.

“Will you stay here with me? Please?” She didn't think she would be able to fall back to sleep but at least if she felt someone close by maybe she could keep the bad memories at bay.

“Sure, princess.” He got back in bed and she moved over to give him room. He tucked one arm underneath the pillow, lying on his side, brushing her hair behind her ear with the other. “You try to sleep now.”

She smiled at him, and before she drifted off her thoughts went to her dad and what he would have thought about his Katie-Cakes being in bed with a criminal. But then again, she thought and felt a blush graze her cheeks, this criminal was papa approved.

She woke up with Seth close at her back, his arm around her. She had her hand on top of his, fingers entwined. As Seth felt her stir he pulled her in close, clasping his hand tight to her chest and made a low murmuring sound in his sleep.

Kate lifted her head slightly, trying not to wake him up. Sunlight was seeping in through the curtains and she could hear the occasional car passing by on the street outside. She couldn't believe she had managed to sleep through the night.

“Slept well?” Seth mumbled drowsily by her ear whilst nuzzling her hair at the nape of her neck. The unexpected intimacy made her tense up and she felt Seth instantly mirror her motion. He freed his hand from under hers and rolled over to his back.

Kate cleared her throat. There was an electric charge over the entire room and she was afraid that it might ignite if she dared to move. “Yeah, thanks for, you know, staying. And you?” she bit down on her lip, hard, thankful that she had her back to him.

“Yeah, slept just fine.” he answered in one short breath.

The awkward silence that followed seemed to make every breath from her lips sound like an industrial air vent.

There was a knock on the door. “Room service!” Seth jumped to his feet and all of a sudden the room was breathable again.

As Seth tried talking the surly motel maid into coming back later, Kate took her bra and quickly put it on underneath the tee, back turned to Seth and the door. As she put the jeans on, doing a small jiggle bounce to ease the tight denim over her bottom, she heard a low groan from behind. She shot a glance over her shoulder, meeting Seth's eyes where he stood by the door looking at her in exasperation.

“Everything okay?” she asked perplexed.

Seth made a small grimace and ruffled a hand through his messy hair. “Just dandy, candy.” Then he shot past her to the bathroom and a moment later she heard the shower running.

 

~~~

 

Those first couple of weeks had been rough. Physically and emotionally. In pursuit of Richie they had gotten deeper into culebra country. At first it hadn't been all that noticeable but they soon learned to spot the snakes from the humans. It was something about the way they walked and talked and the way they would look at you like you were nothing more than a small rodent.

The days were spent trying to catch a lead on where Richie and Santanico were headed, sometimes ending them up in culebra dens, fighting for answers as well as survival. The nights were spent at various motels. More often than not they ended up sleeping in the same bed, finding comfort in each others presence.

One night Kate had woken up to the sound of Seth sniffling over a bottle of cheap tequila on the small couch in the other room. She heard him mutter something about Richie, cursing in the dark at his baby brother and how the hell they had gotten into this mess.

Kate got out of bed, panties and tee, and walked over to the doorway. She felt a pang at her heart. The man who always seemed like the epicentre of cool and composure, no matter if they were fighting culebras or were making a less than legal pit stop at a gas station, he now looked so painfully vulnerable.

He raised his head and as he saw her looking at him he quickly cleared his throat, rubbing a hand over his face to wipe away the tears marring his eyes and cheeks.

“Sorry,” his voice hoarse. “didn't mean to wake you, princess.”

Kate shook her head. He wasn't to blame for anything. She walked over and sat down on the coach next to him. She took the bottle out of his hands and took a sip, grimacing as the liquid burned it's way down her throat.

“Easy there, cowboy.” he chuckled softly and she revelled in the sound.

She leaned her head on his shoulder, passing him the bottle. “I miss him too.”

“I know you do, princess. I'd say you miss him more than you'd admit.” He leaned back in his seat, folding his arm around her, bringing her closer so that he could bury his face in her hair. She brought her knees up, cuddling up next to him and they sat like that for a while, passing the bottle to and fro.

“You know, you shouldn't be drinking this stuff.” She said after a while, a bit slurred as her tongue felt oddly rebellious, like it had a will of it's own, and for a brief moment she thought of what her tongue might do if she didn't keep it in check. Her cheeks became burning hot and she hoped he wouldn't feel it through the fabric of his white shirt.

“Look who's talking.” he huffed a smile and looked at her. His hand around her back had been absentmindedly brushing up and down her bare leg and now it settled on her thigh. She glanced up at him, the only light coming from the street lamps outside but still she could see the glint in his eyes. “Are you even old enough to drive?” he teased.

She scoffed and gave him a shove in mocked offence as she sat up from him. She looked at him with forced poise as she did her best to control that tongue of hers. “I'll have you know that I'll be eighteen in less than two months.”

“Well, I'll be damned.” he shot her a sly smile and she had to look away. She felt that smile all the way down in her stomach but she shook it off as being the tequila. He gently grabbed her and pulled her back to him, wrapping his arm around her as he looked at her with intoxicated eyes tinged with want. He put a hand to her neck, brushing with his thumb along her jawline. “Well then, tell me what you want for your birthday, princess.” His voice was low and breathy. She could feel it on her lips and she felt all her blood change direction.

She knew what her body wanted. Oh God and Lord in Heaven it was evident. Her tongue darted over her lower lip and caught Seth's eye. He tilted his head, intrigued, as if he hoped to see it again. His hand moved around her neck to the nape, it made a perfect fit, and he pulled her closer. He brushed his lips underneath her jaw towards her ear and caught her lobe, just shy of nibbling, as he murmured. “Tell me, and I'll make it happen. I promise.”

She let go of a low moan as his tender touch made her skin tingle. She closed her eyes and tilted her head, easing his access. She caught a whiff of his scent, tequila, clean sweat, and underneath that she felt his own warm essence. It was soothing and exhilarating all at once, and something about it made her mind wander. She felt a sudden tug at her heart. His scent, it reminded her of someone.

She pulled back slightly and looked at him under heavy lids. “Richie.” It was barely more than a whisper.

She noticed a twitch to Seth's lips and a furrow at his brow. Micro expressions she might as well have imagined. He took a deep breath, then he nodded, eyes looking down. “I promise.” he looked back up at her from under his lashes, no longer any trace of the tequila in his eyes.

“In time for my birthday?” She felt silly asking, felt like a spoiled sweet sixteen, but she wanted nothing more and she needed to make sure.

“In time for your birthday.” He pulled her in, but instead of a kiss he put his lips to her forehead. “I promise, baby girl, we'll get him back.”

 

~~~

 

Time fly by when you're killing vampires and robbing small town banks, and all of a sudden Kate's birthday was around the corner, more precisely in four days.

The closer they had gotten to the appointed date the heavier the tension had grown. Every time they had thought they would finally get their eyes on the prize, just to find it was another dead end, it brought on a bad mood. Kate felt it as if they isolated themselves from each other, only talking about what was necessary like strategies and routes, or about utter nonsense like the weather and what to eat. Lately they had been sleeping in separate beds or back to back and they rarely talked about anything deeper, anything that actually mattered, and Kate couldn't tell if that was on him or her.

The last two weeks she had felt increasingly bad with every passing day for making Seth give that promise, for making him shoulder something that now seemed like an impossible task. Not that he was alone in trying to accomplish it. She too fought, quite literally, to make her wish come true.

Their search had brought them back to the US, into one of the bigger towns close to the border. Seth had, with some help from Kate, pulled off a couple of smaller robberies along the way and instead of the truck stop motels she had gotten used to, he had decided to splash out on a nice hotel room as they got into town.

They had been there for two days and Kate found that in two days time one got used to the looks others gave you for being a young lady in company of an older man, holed up in a hotel room under obvious pseudonyms. She also found that she couldn't care less.

It was a couple hours past noon and Kate was sprawled out on top of her bed zapping through channels on the TV. Seth had gotten them a suite and they had separate bedrooms now. She didn't really like it, the nights seemed so much longer and the nightmares where back, but she hadn't dared to question his decision. Maybe he thought he did her a favour. Or maybe he himself just liked it better that way.

“Time to get ready, kitten.” Seth poked his head around the door. “If anything goes wrong I'd like to have the advantage of sunlight for our retreat.”

They had gotten a lead on some top brass culebras meeting up at a high-end bar on the other side of town. They were hoping that Richie would be among them seeing as he was pretty high up on the snake ladder, travelling with the queen and all.

Kate stretched and sat up. She got the machete from the chair next to her bed and strapped it to her back with skilled hands. She checked the strap keeping the haft in place, it was drawn underhand, and then she put her green army cut jacket on, concealing the blade.

She walked out to Seth who was fully suited up by the front door, adjusting his tie in the mirror.

“Oh no can do, baby doll.” he said when he side glanced her attire. “This is a classy joint, you're not even getting passed the valet in that.” That was another thing. He never called her princess any more, and she missed it like crazy.

Kate looked down on her pale jeans and tee. “Well what do you suggest? That I show up naked?”

The thought seemed to linger for a second in Seth's mind before he pointed towards an expensive looking paper bag by the sofa in the main room. “Put that on.” he commanded, and as she left for her room, paper bag in hand, he called out after her “and leave the freakin' machete!”

A couple of minutes later she came back out. A dark blue, short cut, thin strap sparkling dress that hugged her body like nothing else. And the machete at her back.

“You know I hate sequins.” she muttered dryly as she got up to him, hand on her hip and a pair of matching high heels in the other. “And you're expecting me to be able to walk in these?” She held the shoes up giving him a sceptical look.

Seth didn't reply. He seemed absolutely stupefied by the sight of her. In seeing the straps around her shoulders, one diagonally over her chest, he snapped out of it.

“I thought I told you to leave that thing behind.” he frowned. “There's no way they're letting you in with a blade, and you can't wear your jacket on top of that dress. Besides, you know I'm packing enough heat for the both of us.”

“And _you_ know this _thing_ has saved your ass more than once.” she countered, putting on the shoes. She snatched his black suit jacket from the back of a chair and put it on, folding up the sleeves and draping her hair over the back. “There.” she said. “Out of sight, out of mind.”

“And what about the straps?” he nodded towards her chest.

“We'll just say it's a designer dress.” she shrugged. “Who the hell knows what they put on those things.”

He sighed in frustration. “No, it's out of the question. This isn't some ordinary snake pit we're heading into, you know that. Never mind if Richie and Santanico is there, the security on a _normal_ day is tighter than a nun's ass, and if they find that thing on you you'll be dead in an instant.” The sheer thought of it made him frown as he walked up to her and continued with soft voice. “You know how the culebras work. Give them something sweet and they'll be all over it in a second, and sweetie you look like..” he trailed off, eyes wandering up and down her as he moved in closer.

“I dare you to say jailbait..” she growled.

He shook his head from side to side, never taking his eyes of off her. “You look like a million bucks,” he put his hand up to her neck. “and you know how I hate parting with my money.” At first she thought he was joking but seeing the graveness on his face she realized it was the best damn compliment she had ever heard.

His hand at her neck felt like it was giving off electricity and Kate bit her lower lip. She couldn't tell when her breathing had become so heavy or why her eyes constantly wandered down to Seth's lips but all of a sudden his other hand was round her back, pressing her to him and her hands was at the nape of his neck, fingers curling in his hair.

With a groan of surrender Seth leaned in and put his lips to hers. It was harsh and almost reluctantly, as if he fought with himself over it. Nonetheless, she felt it like a bolt of lightning right down to the core of her. It took all her blood with it as it rushed down, leaving her lightheaded whilst making her throb down under. She answered his kiss with a deep moan, pulling his head closer while teasing with her tongue at his lips, wishing to taste him. The sensation made him give off another growling sound and he moved around, pressing her back up against the wall, pinning her down. His lips parted and he nibbled and licked at hers, making her push her groin against him in not so much a conscious move as it was pure instincts.

He moved his hand from her back down to her thigh and back up again, underneath the dress, to grab her ass, and Kate arched her back to his touch. She tilted her head back in a gasp, eyelids heavy and head spinning. It was as if her body had secretly been building up for this moment for two months now, and now it was about to ignite from those lips and hands.

He turned his lips to her neck and grazed it with soft bites making her gasp even more. His touch was like hot liquid on her skin and her mind was filled with images of him underneath her on the bed, stripping her out of her dress, grabbing her hips, pressing her down onto him...

“Fuck.” She heard Seth curse under his breath, or lack thereof, and felt him pull back making her almost fall over as he no longer held her against the wall. She opened her eyes and looked at him through a haze of arousal.

He had his jaws clenched and faced to the side. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that.” He stepped back, chest heaving from heavy breaths.

Kate started to regain her thoughts. ”No, it's okay, it's.. I..” She was absolutely flustered and the words failed her. “But yeah we probably shouldn't..” There was an uncertainty in her voice and Seth glanced at her, a question to his eyes. She took a deep breath trying to clear her mind. “Yeah, we shouldn't, I mean you're..”

“Brother to the guy you like.” He gave her a crooked smile and she noticed how he said 'like', not 'love'. It was a bit of a relief. Her notion of love didn't quite blend with the calibre of Richie nor his brother.

She scoffed. ”I was gonna say _old_!” She raised her brows and hands in mocked disbelief.

”No, you weren't.” he huffed a smile and shook his head gently. Then he looked at her straightforward, one eyebrow cocked and she bit her lip, felt it still swollen and wet from his care.

”No, I weren't..” she admitted and blushed under his gaze, turning her eyes to the side. She knew there was no idea to really try and deny her investment in his brother.

Seth nodded as he stepped back further. ”That's fine. Just don't ever mention it to Richie. He never liked sharing hi..” he quickly bit down the last couple of words.

Kate squinted her eyes, scrutinising. ”You were gonna say 'his toys', weren't you?”

”No, I weren't.” Seth put on his best 'I have no idea what you're talking about' face as he turned to the door, opening it for her. By now she knew that face too well to fall for it though and she stayed put, folding her arms over her chest.

”Yes, you were.” A tug to the corner of her mouth.

Seth sighed, looking extremely uncomfortable. ”Yes. Yes I were..” He surrendered and lowered his head in a boyish manner.

She walked up to him, eyes bold and voice steady. “I'm not a toy, Seth. I'm not a pretty doll for you to keep safe.” She put a hand on his chest, feeling his heart beat underneath her palm as she leaned in, lips brushing his cheek and voice low as she added, “And I'm the only one to decide whether I'm to be shared or not.”

He turned his face towards her, as if trying to catch her lips, but she pulled back.

“Shall we?” she asked, hinting towards the open door.

He cleared his throat and nodded as she walked past him. “Sure, sugar.”

“Nuh-uh.” She shook her head at his words. “Who am I.” It was a demand, not a question, as she looked at him over the shoulder.

For a second he furrowed his brows, puzzled, then he shot her one of those knee trembling crooked smiles. “You're my princess.”

She smiled back. “That's all I wanted to hear.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Jeez, this series will be the end of me!
> 
> This part was another one that just ran away with me.  
> I was sitting up last night, feeling as if I was going mental with all the stuff in my head that wanted to come out on to the 'paper'. Eventually I came to the conclusion that the best thing, for my sanity and so that I would be able to post something before you guys had completely forgotten about me, would be to cut it. That way it got a reasonable word count and I now have a clear (yeah, who're you kidding?!) path to follow for part 5.
> 
> So, yeah. Things just sort of happened. Hope you don't mind.
> 
> And as always, happy that you all are reading, and I hope to see you in the comments!
> 
> Love you!


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